5 Oscar nominees you actually need to see

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Spanish-language promotional poster for “No.” (Monsieur X Studio)

Have your friends banned you from singing Les Miserables’ anthem “Do You Hear the People Sing” one more time? Can’t stand hearing again and again about how Osama Bin Laden was or wasn’t found? If you want to watch something that will inspire and incite you, check out these five Oscar-nominated films that deserve much more attention than they’ve gotten.

Chile’s first film in the Oscars will bring you back to 1988, when acid-washed jeans were hot and Chile was holding a referendum to decide whether they wanted to keep General Pinochet or not. In comes René Saavedra (played by Gael Garcia Bernal), who tries to use his commercial advertising skills to revamp the anti-Pinochet campaign. I really appreciated the scenes where the opposition movement is debating how they want to communicate — do you speak of the anguish, the trials and the political prisoners, and pay homage to the suffering, or do you try to lift fear by inspiring people with a positive message of the future? There’s a good chance you will come out humming some catchy pro-democracy jingles. That’s right — jingles. Right now it’s only playing in theaters in New York and Los Angeles, but hope for a wider release.

While lots of films about Palestine are all about politics, this documentary also gives us a poignant personal story. The film was created by a Palestinian villager, Emad Burnat, who first bought a camera to document the life of his youngest son, but ended up also capturing years of his town’s nonviolent resistance to Israeli settlements. The West Bank village of Bil’in has become well known for its people’s courageous efforts; however, what gives this film its strength is the footage of family life behind the resistance — scenes like the one when Burnat’s son’s first words are “wall” and “army,” or even the most casual friendly gathering. The quiet juxtaposition of these moments with the scenes of marches and tear gas are a powerful combination. You can watch it on Netflix, Hulu, iTunes and Amazon (so there’s really no excuse not to see it).

What stands out in this documentary is the relentless determination of the gay-rights groups ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) to not take “no” for an answer. The film presents the chronology of the battle against AIDS that took place in the streets, in the press and in the laboratories. Come for the bold, creative resistance tactics; stay for the fiercely passionate leaders who have no choice but to fight. You can watch it via pretty much anything (YouTube, Netflix, Amazon, iTunes).

Never has a documentary about six old guys been so startling. These aren’t just any old guys in suspenders, though — they’re the six surviving heads of Israel’s security agency Shin Bet. It’s astounding that these men who have each been in charge of one of the world’s most clandestine organizations are now so publicly critical of the failures of the Israeli government. It gives you the perspective of those responsible for harsh crackdowns against Palestinian civilians and militants, including what these men consider their triumphs and their regrets. If you want a film that leaves you optimistic about peace in the Middle East, this isn’t it. If you want to hear Avraham Shalom say, “[We’ve become] a brutal occupation force similar to the Germans in World War II,” then go get yourself a ticket.

In this short documentary, the directors explore the life of the most endearing and creative teenager you could ever meet. Inocente covers her face and jeans with beautiful colors, which is her way of coping with the difficult life of being a homeless, undocumented 15-year-old living in San Diego. It’s a vibrant, character-driven short that made me want to cheer for this girl and buy all her paintings (though I could do without the film’s soundtrack).

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Thelma Young is a human rights activist and writer who has worked extensively with Burma's democracy movement as well as civil society throughout Southeast Asia. She is the assistant editor of the recent book Nowhere to Be Home: Narratives from Survivors of Burma's Military Regime. She is a Media Studies graduate student at The New School.

Also of note, during his acceptance speech for best adapted screenplay, Argo’s Chris Terio thanked “all the people in the world who solve problems with non violence.” It’s worth noting that he said that in reference to the film’s protagonists, who worked with the CIA and other government agencies. So… not exactly the first people you think of doing acts of nonviolence. And Argo’s certainly not a conventional story of nonviolence, but in a sense, Terio’s comments hold up. It took a creative and non-violent solution to rescue the US diplomats from a situation that was blowback from violent US policies. Definitely can’t say that about Zero Dark Thirty.

depends on what we mean by nonviolence – are you thinking of it as an ideology? i do think we can recognize the good in the “mainstreaming of nonviolence,” as ken butigan likes to say, even if it means sharing lexicon with the elite.

I visited Chile in Dec 1988-Jan 1989 and spent several hours watching all the video ‘spots’ of the ‘No’ campaign. They were amazing – it was as if the team working on them were seizing the opportunity to express themselves after years of being gagged.

What we need to keep clear, however, is that it took much more than a TV advertising campaign to pull the rug from under Pinochet, and that the US only decided that it would rather not be associated with Pinochet after more than a decade of support for the criminal regime.

Howard, that’s a good point– that it takes organizing on multiple platforms to topple a dictator like Pinochet. Do you want to share any of your knowledge about these other organizing campaigns, either in Chile or in the U.S.?

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